It might not have sold well upon its release in 1975, but I rate Pere Ubu's debut album 'The Modern Dance' as one of the best of all time. There, I've said it!
Sure it may be not to everyone's taste but I defy anyone to find an album that is as daring in it's originality and that sounds as fresh and adventurous now as it did back then. And then of course, there was the follow up, 'Dub Housing' which was released only 10 months later yet sounds like a totally different band. However the adjectives I used to describe it's predecessor could just as accurately be utilised to describe this.
Oh, and let's not forget the singles that were released on the Hearthan/Hearpen label particularly the non-album singles 'Final Solution' and the double A-side '30 Seconds Over Tokyo' / 'Heart of Darkness'. All absolutely brilliant stuff.
So to have all of this and more newly remastered in 192khz / 24 bit sound quality was an opportunity not to be missed.
The box set 'Elitism for the People 1975-1978' consists of four 180g LP records housed in a sturdy square box. Each of the aforementioned albums has an LP to themselves while the third disc brings together all of the single A & B sides released during that 3 year period. Of course it has all been done before with the 1996 CD package 'Datapanik in the Year Zero' which included material up to 1982. However the 1996 package did not include the 1977 live set from New York which is included here as LP 4. Nor did the 1996 release have such a wonderful fresh sound which was my main reason for going for this particular set. Despite being familiar with these albums, I am now hearing things that were never evident previously.
Not that the set is flawless by any means. The live album was recorded over thirty years ago on a cassette and subsequently does not match the other material in terms of sound quality. Nor does it even feature the full concert performed at Max's Kansas City all those years ago. On that night the band performed two sets and only the second is included here. To obtain the full concert one has to download it from the Hearpen website and pay $10 for the privilege. Would it have been too much to ask to have the full concert included, even if it meant running to five albums instead of four? Or at very least a download code for the concert could have been included in the set. Still, these are relatively small criticisms. The fact is that the quality of the the other material makes this purchase worthwhile.
I am informed that the set is limited to 1000 copies though I confess that it is not numbered so I could well be mistaken. However I have no regrets about splashing out to hear this material in such superb quality.
As a postscript I should perhaps give some explanation as to whether the early singles were released on the Hearthan or Hearpen label. This appears to cause confusion and argument even among fans of Pere Ubu. So here it is directly from the Hearpen Records website:
"David Thomas made Hearpen records in 1975 to put out Pere Ubu records. The name derives from an Anglo-Saxon word for harp. The 'p' is a transliteration of the Anglo-Saxon thorn, a character that was pronounced th. Hearthan (pronounced hay-are-than) gradually gave way to Hearpen (pronounced hay-are-pen) as the label's name. The logo got designed on a day it was Hearthan. A rule evolved that written the name is Hearpen while when integrated into a design it becomes Hearthan. Hearpen is the favored pronunciation in all cases. Confusion was the foundation on which our business grew."
Clear?
'Elitism for the People 1975-1978' is released on Fire Records and may or may not be limited to 1000 copies. Grab yours while you can.
Well I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas. I'm just catching my breath after all of the festivities and while everyone else seems to be at the sales, I at last have time to sit and ponder on the best new album releases of 2014.
I have to say, for my money it hasn't been a year of outstanding album releases. For a start there were a few disappointments which included a lacklustre album from Bruce Springsteen with the ironic title 'High Hopes'. Neil Young released not one but two albums but neither quite hit the heights of his best work. 'A Letter Home' featured some fine cover versions but was recorded in such a lo-fi way as to drastically reduce any enjoyment one might have had of listening to it. The other, 'Storytone' did feature Young's original material but sadly fell well short of what we have come to expect from him. The fact that we were presented with two versions of each song, one performed solo and the other performed in front of an orchestra or band, did little to alleviate the disappointment with the material.
Goat were a band I had high hopes for after their 2012 debut 'World Music'. Despite plaudits from a number of critics, I found the follow-up, 'Communion' to be just more of the same. I was also disappointed with '... And Star Power' from Foxygen who had impressed me greatly with last year's 'We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic'. Shame, but that gets the disappointments out of the way so we can move onto the good stuff.
The early part of the year saw the release of 'English Oceans' by the Drive-By Truckers. As I asked at the time, have they ever released a duff record? OK this may not be quite up there with their finest work but it is good to see Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley equally sharing the songwriting credits again. For some time it looked as though it might make it into my top slot.
The album 'Benji' by Mark Kozelek who operates under the moniker Sun Kil Moon was another early contender. Pitchfork were even daring enough to declare it one of the best albums of the decade so far. Heavy praise indeed! The subject matter of the album tends to be mortality so there are a few deaths to deal with but there is humour in there also. All in all it is a very fine album though fans of Sun Kil Moon don't need me to tell them that.
I was impressed with the return to form of Jack Bruce with his album 'Silver Rails' on which he was supported by several family members and friends. It was almost as if Jack was saying his goodbye and although he sounded strong on the album itself I
watched a documentary about the making of the album and I thought he looked vary frail. Of course as we now know, he did not have long left with us which makes this album all the more poignant.
Another elder statesman, Leonard Cohen also returned with another fine album 'Popular Problems'. Full of bluesy themes and witty lyrics, the album carries on from where 'Old Ideas' left off which isn't a bad thing.
Two British bands that are forging quite a reputation in the melodic jazz style are the Neil Cowley Trio and Gogo Penguin, Their respective 2014 albums, 'Touch & Flee' and 'V2.0' were very much on my playlist in a year when I have been absorbing myself in an awful lot of jazz music both old and new. Of course Ginger Baker also produced a very jazz influenced album this year with 'Why'.
I have already commented on the releases from Lucinda Williams, Jack White, Jolie Holland, Royal Blood, Robert Plant, Pere Ubu, Opeth, Ryan Adams and Anais Mitchell. Clicking any of these links will take you to my original thoughts.
They are all very enjoyable albums but you may be surprised to hear that none have made it into my own personal top 3 this year.
To find out what has, I suggest you check back here in the next few days.
When I last saw Pere Ubu at the Sage, Gateshead last April, I reported that during the show David Thomas removed one of his boots and adjusted his sock, something I had never before witnessed at a music gig. Well, I returned to the same venue last night to see them promote and perform the latest album 'Carnival of Souls' and was stunned to see Thomas once more remove his boot. This time however, the sock came off as well and he then proceeded to use the sock to mop up some red wine he had spilt on the stage. The wine stained sock was then tossed onto the stage and remained there for the remainder of the set.
Well this was a Pere Ubu gig. What did I expect?
They took to the stage without any preamble, warning or introduction and Thomas seated centre stage regaled us for a few minutes with random stories including how Nico smoked 50 to 60 cigarettes a day and would often hit on people for £10 to buy more cigarettes. Thomas reckoned it would go on on booze or drugs. And so the stories went on. So far not a note had been played.
The music started without warning and continued for twenty minutes when Thomas called a halt and the band left the stage. We had just witnessed Pere Ubu being their own support act.
I have owned the latest album since it was released in August. Once again they have maintained the high standards that have been constantly set during their 40 year and 15 album career. Has any other band been quite as consistent? Answers on a postcard please. Yet there were only about 200 of us in Hall Two of the Sage. A travesty or what?
They may be an acquired taste but I believe that everyone should make the effort to acquire that taste. Perhaps it is the eccentric nature of Thomas and the band that detracts from the music itself. Certainly during live gigs, a central part of the performance involves the rhetoric of the seemingly world-weary Thomas. At one point last night he pointed to the discarded sock and said "I had to use my sock to mop up some wine, the zipper on my boot is broken and it flaps about." He then looked down at his legs and torso and said, "And I'm covered in food stains." Then after a slight pause, he peered out into the audience and growled "But I'm a fucking legend."
And he's right!
Last night the band were missing bassist Michele Temple but guitarist Keith Moline covered the absence well. Also added to the line-up since their last visit, is clarinetist Daryll Boon who added some wonderfully creepy touches as he does on the album itself. During 'The Road Trip of Bipasha Ahmed' from the previous album, 'Lady From Shanghai', Thomas sang into the mouthpiece of an old black, bakelite telephone, Who knows why?
Two highlights from the current album were 'Carnival' in which Thomas reveals the male psyche and just what goes on inside his head. Not a pretty sight. The ballad 'Irene' combines words from 'Goodnight Irene' and 'I Put a Spell on You' over a chord progression reminiscent of the start of The Beatles' 'Sun King'. It might just be the loveliest song ever done by Pere Ubu. The old curmudgeon does have a heart after all.
On this occasion they did return for an encore. To finish they played something called 'Buy More Merchandise' It is not the weather for T-shirts and I have all the albums, so I did not take the advice.
My own advice is get the album. It may be destined to be a classic.
I have said it in earlier posts this year, but I really do believe that 2013 has been an exceptional year for new music. Consequently making my decisions as to the best (ie my favourite) albums of the year has been particularly difficult. For me the year began on a high note with the release of 'Lady From Shanghai' by Pere Ubu and 'Electric' by Richard Thompson. and my enjoyment of both albums was enhanced by seeing both of these acts live in the first half of the year.
You can read my thoughts on the Richard Thompson album here and on Pere Ubu here.
The prolific Nick Cave maintained his own high standards with 'Push The Sky Away' while David Bowie surprised everyone, myself included, by returning to the studios and treating us all to 'The Next Day' an album which quite rightly is appearing in many 'Best Of' lists this year. Another of my long time favourites, Steve Earle, took us on a tour of an American landscape with which he appeared to be less than enamoured. The result was 'The Low Highway'. Yet another favourite in the so-called Americana genre is Jason Isbell and he didn't disappoint with 'Southeastern'.
Last year the prize for White Room favourite went to Anais Mitchell for her marvellous album 'Young Man in America'. This year in collaboration with Jefferson Hamer, Ms Mitchell delved into the murky past of British folk music with a small sample of 'Child Ballads'. These songs have been performed and recorded by hundreds of artists, yet rarely I feel, with such beauty and tenderness.
I was intrigued to find out how Midlake would adapt to the loss of their lead singer and songwriter, Tim Smith. For me they have never been able to reproduce the brilliance of their second album, 'The Trials of Van Occupanther'. With 'Antiphon' they have delivered something of a slow burner which possibly explains why it has not made my top six. It is still working it's way into my psyche and is an album that I may find easier to evaluate in six months time.
There was obviously a huge amount of expectation (and hype) surrounding the release of 'Reflektor' by The Arcade Fire. They have now become one of the world's biggest bands, able to sell out large arenas at the drop of a hat. And perhaps for me, that is the problem as I have a tendency to drift away from acts as soon as they are on the brink of mega-stardom. Nevertheless I was eagerly anticipating this year's release and don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed the album. Yet, it doesn't quite hit the spot that their early releases did when I found them to be fresh and exciting. That might say more about me, but whatever the reason, they have not made it into the White Room top six.
Anyone who has been a regular or even an occasional reader of these pages will not have failed to notice that I am a HUGE fan of The Beatles. Yet, I have never been much of a fan of the solo work of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison or Starr. Paul McCartney has of course written some fine songs yet there has always been a side to his songwriting that I have found rather twee. This remains the case with his latest album 'New', however there is enough very good material for me to make the claim that I think this might just possibly be his best solo work ever. The number of people of his generation who can continue to write songs and produce albums of this standard, is sadly dwindling. Macca deserves credit for having the energy and the ability to produce this sort of stuff after 50 years (and counting).
Other 2013 albums which are also worthy of mention are:-
'None The Wiser' by Chris Wood
'Shout!' by Gov't Mule
'Til Yor River Runs Dry' by Eric Burdon
'Mount Moriah' by Mount Moriah
'MCII' by Mikal Cronin
'II' by Unknown Mortal Orchestra
'Magpie & The Dandelion' by The Avett Brothers
'Man & Myth' by Roy Harper
'Monomania' by Deerhunter
'Once I Was An Eagle' by Laura Marling
'The Terror' by The Flaming Lips.
Phew! I told you it had been a great year.
Still the White Room Top Six to be announced. Yes I did say SIX. These are the albums which for me deserve special mention this year. Watch this space.
As another birthday slips by, I realise that we are once again midway through the year. So it seems a good time to quickly mention the albums that have most impressed me so far in 2013.
I have of course previously mentioned some of the best, such as:
- Pere Ubu - Lady From Shanghai
- Richard Thompson - Electric
- Villagers - {Awayland}
- Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing
- Steve Earle - The Low Highway
- Hiss Golden Messenger - Haw
- These New Puritans - Field of Reeds
- Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer - Child Ballads
Others that are contenders include 'Til Your River Runs Dry' by Eric Burdon who remains in very fine voice. Also a great return to form by David Bowie with 'The Next Day', 'Push the Sky Away' by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and the second album from Mount Moriah entitled 'Miracle Temple'.
I am also currently listening to 'Southeastern' by Jason Isbell and 'Once I Was an Eagle' by Laura Marling and I have little doubt that they will feature in my final decision at the end of the year.
All in all it has been a great year so far. And there are still another six months to go!
Last week I enjoyed a couple of beers with a former work colleague who kindly passed on to me a couple of albums that I was unfamiliar with.
The first of these was 'The Day The Earth Met The Rocket From The Tombs' by The Rocket From The Tombs, a protopunk incarnation of Pere Ubu. The album was released in 2002 and features a collection of live performances and demos recorded during the short lifetime of the band between 1974 and 1975. Among the tracks are early versions of the Ubu classics '30 Seconds Over Tokyo', 'Life Stinks' and 'Final Solution', though they are heavier and more raucous than the Ubu versions.
The other album was 'Music To Eat' by The Hampton Grease Band. This is a double album dating from 1971 and has gone down in history as being the second worst selling record in the Columbia catalogue. (The worst selling album was the Maharishi Mahesh yoga instructional record). Despite the poor sales, the album has a great deal of merit and on listening to it, I can appreciate why the band were compared to Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and Pere Ubu.
If you should find a copy and enjoy some avant garde rock music, then I suggest you give it a spin.
It appears that we have all been existing in a dream world in which we believed, among other things, that The Beatles were the greatest band in history. This is not the case for in the real world, Pere Ubu released their first record which immediately shot to the top of the charts in most countries around the globe. They were bigger than the aforementioned Beatles and yes, even bigger than Foreigner!!
Or so claimed David Thomas as Pere Ubu came onto the stage at The Sage, Gateshead on Monday 15 April.
From then on we were transported into the strange world of Pere Ubu as they took us on a surreal journey through some of their 'songs' both old and new. These were interspersed with wry humorous comments from Thomas delivered in a way that suggested that this was all just a bit too much of an effort for him. Why, he even had to sit down occasionally to rest his weary body and at one point removed his boot to adjust a sock, something I can't recall seeing before at a rock gig. Of course it's all part of the Thomas persona and there was nothing indolent about the musical performances of Thomas or the band. The singer was flanked by Gagarin and Robert Wheeler on synthesizers and keyboards. Wheeler was particularly energetic as he waved around a plastic electric ray-gun or teased strange sounds from his theramin. Just behind the two keyboards, guitarist Keith Moline and bassist Michele Temple faced each other rather than the audience. Temple rocked back and forth as she pounded out the thumping bass rhythms putting me in mind somewhat of Tina Weymouth, though that may be simply because I know few other female bass players. At the back of the stage, drummer Steve Mehlman shook his long blonde hair in time to the beat as he hit the snares with such ferocity that they sounded like gun shots.
Thomas had a clipboard holding together pages of lyrics, which he referred to particularly for the newer songs such as 'Mandy', 'Musicians Are Scum', 'The Road Trip Of Bipasha Ahmed' and the encore, 'Thanks'.
After an hour and twenty minutes Thomas realised that he had given us twenty minutes more than he intended. Without thanks, band introductions or final bows, Thomas left the stage to wander through the audience and out of the auditorium through the rear doors, leaving the band to finish the final song and leave the stage at the rear. Thomas could then be found shaking hands and signing merchandise for us faithful fans. But, as he made clear, it was not because he liked us.
We eventually left the venue and found ourselves back in the dream world in which we had previously existed.
It was the late, great DJ John Peel who introduced me to so many new artists between the late 1960's and the 1980's. Among these were Pere Ubu.
Listening to their debut album 'The Modern Dance' back in 1978, it seemed to me that the band had picked up the mantle shed by Captain Beefheart while he searched for a more commercial sound. Also I saw some similarities with another of my absolute favourite American bands, Talking Heads, but while David Byrne and colleagues found commercial success, Pere Ubu continued to confuse and confound most listeners with their distinctive brand of avant garde (or to use their term - 'avant-garage') rock music. Easy listening it was not!
Yet, thanks largely to a smallish band of devoted followers, Pere Ubu are now celebrating 37 years of music making and their latest release, 'Lady From Shanghai', is their 17th studio album. In truth, the band is to all intents and purposes, vocalist David Thomas, as he is the only constant throughout the career of this perplexing band. Always searching for new ways forward, the concept for this particular piece of work is 'Chinese Whispers'. In a book which accompanies some versions of the album, Thomas explains that the band members recorded their parts in total isolation using a set of rules defined by Thomas himself. Miraculously the result is for the most part quite cohesive.
Now, I somehow have to give you on paper, (or to be more precise, on screen) a feel for how this album comes across. Damn! How do you even categorise the music of Pere Ubu, let alone attempt to describe it?
If I start by saying that the opening track, the ironically titled 'Thanks', has the distorted voice of Thomas singing "You can go to hell" to the tune of Anita Ward's 'Ring My Bell', you might begin to get the idea. The distortion is even more apparent on 'Feuksley Ma'am, The Hearing' where he mangles the words of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' over what sounds like the bass line from Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Two Tribes'. 'Mandy' is more like music as you probably know it but when Thomas implores the girl of the title to 'come out to play' the result appears far more sinister than John Lennon trying to entice Prudence Farrow out of her tent in India ('Dear Prudence'). The spooky clarinet adds to this feeling. It could almost provide the background music to a Hitchcock film.
My favourite track is 'The Road Trip of Bipasha Ahmed' in which, over mid paced guitar chords, Thomas declares "She calls me Johnny Rocket but I don't know why". 'Lampshade Man' is like garage-rock with electronic effects while '414 Seconds' is exactly that. 414 seconds of poetry being recited over an industrial background.
Perhaps I'm not doing a very good job of selling this album but that is not my intention. The band are most definitely an acquired taste. If you are already familiar with Pere Ubu, you will have some idea of what to expect. If not then I suggest you throw yourself in at the beginning with 'The Modern Dance' and see where the journey takes you.
Bon voyage.
As a postscript I should add that Pere Ubu are touring this year and this includes a few dates in the UK. They will be at The Sage in Gateshead on 15 April.
So will I.
It might not have sold well upon its release in 1975, but I rate Pere Ubu's debut album 'The Modern Dance' as one of the best of all time. There, I've said it!
The box set 'Elitism for the People 1975-1978' consists of four 180g LP records housed in a sturdy square box. Each of the aforementioned albums has an LP to themselves while the third disc brings together all of the single A & B sides released during that 3 year period. Of course it has all been done before with the 1996 CD package 'Datapanik in the Year Zero' which included material up to 1982. However the 1996 package did not include the 1977 live set from New York which is included here as LP 4. Nor did the 1996 release have such a wonderful fresh sound which was my main reason for going for this particular set. Despite being familiar with these albums, I am now hearing things that were never evident previously.
